"Oh my god oh my god oh my god!" Taeyeon hysterically yelled over and over, ruffling her hair as tears kept spilling in her face. Leeteuk tried to calm her down but she wouldn't let him touch her. She was having hiccups as she kept on murmuring "How? Oh my god. What to do?"

"Shut up. Will you!" Heechul yelled, his tone more serious than usual which suddenly made Taeyeon bite her lower lip in an attempt to muffle her sobs. "We're not sure what happened to him and we're not going to know if we panic!" he said, glancing at everyone -Sunny, visibly shaking and sobbing silently;  Jessica, sitting beside a tree, biting her fingernails; Seohyun and Kyuhyun crouched down, examining the blood-stained things, both eyebrows crossed; Yoona hugging Hyoyeon, both pale-faced; and Donghae who had his arm around Eunhyuk's shoulders, nervously trying to gather strength from each other. Sungmin nodded, "He's right" his tone quivered a bit but his face showed no sign of fear.

"What if-- but what if Yesung-sshi--" Sunny sobbed. "Y-you said that... Cannibals--" A warm hand suddenly grasped her cold one. "S-- Sungmin-sshi. I--"

He wrapped both his hands around hers, feeling how hard she trembles. "Ssh. Nothing bad happened Sunny-sshi. Calm down. Calm down..."

She was shaking her head. "Y-you said. C-cannibals--" Sungmin placed his right palm on her cheek, gently it. "Forget that Sunny-sshi." he said, willing her to look straight at his eyes. "Don't be scared." he tried to smile reassuringly.

Inside, he was afraid, too. What if something really happens to Yesung; to them? He worried. In fact, he worried so much. But no. He can't show weakness. If all of them here were to crumble down and cry, who would stand up to protect them?, he thought. So no, he won't show fear. Sungmin nodded to convince Sunny, and he glanced at his brothers, whom he knew he had to take care of as well.

"Haha. Don't be scared? How can you not be scared when someone just died!" Jessica yelled, frustrated.

"Died?!" Yoona's eyes widened fearfully.

"Jessica-sshi, we haven't known anything for sure" Leeteuk said, warily.

"Well. All I know is that this is really blood" Kyuhyun declared while Seohyun chewed on her lip thoughtfully.

Heechul slumped back down beside Jessica. "Look, I'm sorry" he muttered, barely audible amidst Taeyeon and Sunny's sobs.

"Huh?" Leeteuk asked. Heechul bowed his head, his tone sad. "If I hadn't fought with him... this. This wouldn't have happened..."

"No one wanted this to happen, Heechul-sshi. It's not your fault. And besides, Yesung-sshi might still be out there, somewhere." Sungmin answered.

"So what do we do now?" Yoona asked without the slightest hint of her usual optimism. The sadness in her tone is just so evident,  depression falling over everyone like a thick mist.

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She kept running. Alone. Running and running in circles, not getting anywhere. She was out of breath, her legs were about to give up, she wanted to scream, ask for help but no voice would come out of . She glanced behind her. They almost reach her. Three huge men with scary faces and weird smirks. Pirates. Or were they convicts? She didn't care, all she wanted was to escape. Away from these men, away from this island. Until she heard a voice...

"Jessica. Jessica!"

She woke up panting. Sweat were dripping on her forehead. She wiped them away as she sat up. Blinking, she realized that everything was dream. She sighed, relieved.

"Nightmare?"

She almost jumped up as she turned around to where the voice came from. The person who called her name, woke her up and saved her from the terrible nightmare.  A familiar soothing voice. Donghae.

"Mm-hm" she nodded. It appeared to still be dark outside, she wondered how long it had been since they returned to the hut to sleep together; the fire was still blazing just outside the opening of the hut. She glanced around, and as her eyes became accustomed to the dark, she saw the shirt and shoe from earlier. She shut her eyes as she realized that the blood-stained items were existent and real, not part of her dream.

"Why are you awake?" She asked softly in the dark, knowing that Donghae was just there, perhaps lying, somewhere in the crowded place.

"I can't sleep..." he answered and it surprised her to realize the proximity of the speaker. She turned her head to the left and opened her eyes to see a tiny smile in Donghae's lips.

"Wh-why...?" she couldn't formulate the proper question. "Uh. Why are you beside me?"

He looked confused. "I've always been beside you, Sica."

She flinched and stared at him for a moment too long before he spoke again. "I- I mean. Well... Everyone entered here panicking and just laid down and I didn't know you were the one beside me... So uhm. Does it bother you?"

She inhaled, "N-no. Uh. Thanks for waking me up..."

"Uh, yeah. Sure."

The silence of the night enveloped them, broken by the rhythmical sound of the waves.

"Hae..."

"Oh?"

She thought twice, almost afraid to say the next words... But with the familiarity of his answer, she pulled her knees up and hugged them as she said. "I'm scared..."

Breaths were exchanged between them and she bowed her head when Donghae didn't answer. She expected it, though. That he really doesn't care anymore whether she's scared or not... She was about to accept that as a fact when she felt his familiar hand slowly reach out to hers in the dark.

He just held her hand for a moment, neither of them speaking. But that gesture, that one simple gesture was enough to make her fear go away. The hand she hasn't held, the warmth she hasn't known since what seemed like a thousand years ago... To feel it again now, even for just one second more, was indeed, more comforting than a hundred words.

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Sunny lied awake the whole time. She could hear murmurs from the other side of the hut, but she was too tired and shaky to see who it was. She was afraid to sleep, afraid of nightmares, afraid that when she wakes up another one of her companions would go missing, perhaps dead. The thought made her shiver.

She closed her eyes tightly and tried to think of happy things...

Sungmin. Holding her hand. Smiling as if nothing bad is going to happen. As if his smile could wash away all her doubts and fears.

She flipped her eyelids open but it was almost as dark as having them closed. Why Sungmin-sshi? She thought. Why is he so brave and cool and strong. Like a knight in shining armor. Appearing everytime she needs help.

She bit her lip, remembering how the guys back home had hurt her. Used her for money and prestige...

But from the back of her head, she knew Sungmin was unlike any of them. His concern for her must be genuine, since he doesn't know who she really is. The mere idea made her smile. She closed her hands together, almost feeling the warmth of Sungmin's wrapped around them; the firmness of his back as he piggy-backed her; the gentleness of his stares.

Images flashed in her eyes: Sungmin wrapping his sleeve on her injured hand, on her leg; Sungmin pulling her up when she thought she'd drown; Sungmin jumping at her to push her away from the falling coconut tree. Sungmin smiling, Sungmin eating. Sungmin. Sungmin.

Slowly, she found herself drifting off to sleep... Feeling more relieved, feeling safer than before, knowing that she could always trust Sungmin with her life... With her heart. And finally, before sleep settled in, she admits to herself that she must've really been falling for Lee Sungmin.

----------------------------

Yawning, Hyoyeon rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Did you sleep well?"

She literally gasped as she stared at Eunhyuk who was beaming at her, his face pushed closely to hers, his hair ruffled and uncombed. He snickered. "Pretty."

"Eh?"

"You look pretty even when you just woke up" he tilted his head a bit to the side and smiled before lying back down. Hyoyeon was grateful that he laid down; he wouldn't see her blush.

"Where've they gone?"

Eunhyuk shrugged, then as he stood up, he grabbed Hyoyeon's hand. "Let's go with them, sleepyhead"

He pulled her out the hut and ran towards the group, her hand in his. And she could swear, in those few meters they covered, she felt like flying.

"Is everyone here?" Leeteuk glanced about. They were gathered in a circle and the two sat in the empty space.

"So, can't we just make a new boat or raft or something?" Jessica asked, worry evident in her eyes.

"Had they been here long?" Hyoyeon warily whispered to Eunhyuk who had just let go of her hand. He nodded, smiling naughtily. "Because you're such a sleepyhead... Well, they had already went out for half an hour maybe..."

"Really?" she scratched her head.

"But you were also in the room..." 

He snickered. "Well, I... Sort of volunteered to wait for you to wake up. Can't leave you alone there, you know" he winked before facing the group again. She wanted to squeal had it not for the seriousness in the tone of the other people.

"Jessica-sshi, there's no way we could make a boat. No materials or anything." Kyuhyun said matter-of-factly.

"Besides... We can't just leave Yesung-sshi." Seohyun added.

"Why?! You all saw it right! Blood-- He must be dead by now!" Jessica said.

And who the hell knows where he is?! Or what freaking happened to him!" Taeyeon added.

"Since there wasn't... uh, a body. We are, well, hoping that Yesung-sshi is alive" Leeteuk said carefully.

"But where is he?! If he's alive, he should've returned by now!" Taeyeon still couldn't keep calm.

Seohyun sadly shook her head, "Lost in the woods. Or injured so he can't walk... Perhaps."

"Oh god. We must look for him!" Yoona screamed, wide-eyed.

"What?" Jessica gasped.

"Why not? He might be lying somewhere, starving, injured..." Yoona looks like she was about to cry and Sunny puts an arm around her shoulder.

"And if we too get lost? Or... Or captured. Like, we have no idea what kind of flesh eating creatures exist in there!" Jessica's tone kept rising.

"She's right! I mean. Don't you think it's crazy to risk our lives for a person who's most likely dead! What would we get anyway?" Taeyeon said frantically.

Heechul threw a pebble in the air. "If were lucky we'd end up with injuries or another missing companion. And if we're unfortunate, well then, more fatalities, I guess?" He caught it just in time to see a mixture of glares and pained expressions directed at him.

"What?" he shrugged. "I was just answering her question. Just a suggestion. A suggestion."

An awkward air lingered as the rest thought how they actually got a point.

Until Kyuhyun finally spoke, his tone firm "But, I... I think it's crazier to just sit here and assume he's dead. Look, what if you were the one who went missing." He stared at Jessica and Taeyeon.

"Eh?" Taeyeon's eyebrows furrowed while Jessica clenched her jaw nervously.

"What if you were the one lost and hoping that we'd come look for you. How disappointed and hurt would you feel if we just let you die in the woods just because we assumed you're dead? If you don't want to go, then don't. But I'm not letting my conscience torment me for letting a person die in the woods alone."

"Besides..." Sungmin spoke up. "Aren't we here, waiting for someone, anyone, to rescue us from this island... while Yesung-sshi might also be waiting for someone somewhere out there. That someone could only be us! He's waiting for us to come and rescue him. To think of it, we are somehow in Yesung-sshi's position already. I suppose we'll all feel disappointed and hurt if no one comes to rescue us from this island." Kyuhyun nodded in agreement.

"Sungmin-sshi..." Sunny whispered, admiringly. Everyone else were speechless, and everyone also took it as a silent agreement. Taeyeon sniffled.

Leeteuk looked happy that everyone is willing to help look for Yesung. "No one should go alone. We'll be safer off if we go together."

"But we'll find him easier if we divide ourselves up. Rescue can't be too late, you know" Heechul said without looking up; he has been drawing a cartoon of his face in the sand with a stick. "I suggest we form smaller groups..."

Leeteuk nodded thoughtfully while Hyoyeon's gaze immediately shifted to Eunhyuk's figure. After a few minutes of discussion, and occassional disagreements, they have split themselves off to three groups. Kyuhyun, Donghae and Leeteuk went off right after to catch fish, deciding that they'll start the search after eating.

It was cloudy overhead. The woods seemingly more dangerous and treacherous than before. But with the hope that their missing companion is still alive, and the strength gained from each other, they are willing to take the risks and survive.

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Ohhhh-kay~ Keep calm because you see, Yesung isn't dead... HAHA. I read your comments and since you kept asking... No. Ok. He's not dead. But I don't want to spoil anything else so that's it for now. ;)

So uhm, if he's not dead... What do you think happened to Yesung then? Eotteohke. Where is he? Comment your ideas. ^_____^

And well... Sunny has confirmed her feelings for Sungmin. Yay. =))) And the much requested HaeSica moment. HAHA. And HyoHyuk moment too.

But will their romances still be able to bloom despite these adversaries in the way? Please do subscribe. :333